Shadowed Paths
by Kawaii-Cagalli
Summary: What happens when i get carried away and write two different chapters for each chapter, Roger from SO3 takes over Traverse Town, Ansem is back with an army, and who knows what else? Well, read on to find out. Please R
1. Prologue

Leon: walks up to Sora with his gunblade held out As long as you wield the keyblade, they'll keep coming.

Sora: Um, Leon? Are you ok?

Leon: As long as you wield the keyblade, they'll keep coming.

Yuffie:Walks up and grabs Leon's ear and starts dragging him away Sorry, he hasn't had his meds today. By the way, the author doesn't own kingdom hearts, or any other characters that you may read about.

Leon:Ah! My EAR!

Well, here goes my first fanfic… Basically, it's supposed to explain the past few hours, up to the present. Also known as, this is the prologueJ.

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A mysterious figure in a black robe and hood stood at the base of a tall, hollowed out building, seemingly immersed in the shadows around it. The only noticeable thing was the random gleam off one of the many brass buttons on its robe. No one paid attention to the figure as they made their way around it and the building. It was the usual 4 o'clock rush in Twilight Town, and whoever the mysterious figure was, had been standing in the same spot since that morning.

At the same time, on the other side of the town, another robed figure made its way up the busy, narrow streets. People either pushed or shoved their way past, all seeming to be headed in the same direction: "Home". For the robed figure, it seemed like walking against a strong current; a seemingly never ending tide of rude and impatient people. As the sun set in the background, the town came alive in a beautiful array of orange, pink, and yellow that lit up the busy streets like a torch.

The first figure stood still, gazing down one of the many streets at the busy intersection. Then, it saw _him_. Irately waving his keyblade around at one of the pushy vendors was Sora. All at once, the streets exploded in a mix of screams, and the sound of heartless attacking innocents. Then, suddenly, one word was heard above the racket, as the hooded figure began to make its way towards the boy, a single word echoed in the emptying streets, "Die."

Up the street a ways still, was the second figure, still fighting through the tide of now panic stricken people. "No! It's already started!" The figure mused. In front of him a ways still, he could begin to see the end to the flow of citizens, and the top of a barricade that had mysteriously appeared; only trapping Sora inside.

Heartless soon swarmed the street, cornering a surprised Sora in the small Shoppe where the Vendor had been standing. A few that were braver than the others, would lunge forwards, only to be impaled by Sora's keyblade. It was now almost 5:30, and darkness was beginning to descend upon the stricken town, and unbeknownst to Sora, Guardian was beginning to take form behind him.

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Well, thanks for reading. Tell me if you like it. If you do, then I'll put up the first chapter.


	2. A Battles End and a Wars Beginning

Author: Thanks a lot for the review Big!

Leon: -hit's the author over the head with his gun blade- Quiet, fool.

Albel: -Randomly appears and skewers Leon- That's my line maggot. By the way, this fool doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Star Ocean, or any other characters that may show their face. –Randomly disappears-

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The second mysterious figure scaled the wooden barricade with speed, making it look like a child's play toy. As his feet slammed into the dry ground on the other side, keyblade Oblivion flashed into his skilled hands. The heartless took little notice to him as he searched for some sign of where Sora could have been. Then, he found it. Headed towards one of the many deserted shops, was the original cloaked figure. The heartless cleared the way as it made its way through. "So, that's who's controlling them." He laughed. "This is almost too easy." He watched the figure for a moment, and followed after him, his keyblade flashing like lightning in the darkness as he tore through the heartless.

Sora staggered backwards, as the heartless made their relentless attacks. Suddenly, they all backed away. "Wha…?" Through the black mists left behind by the defeated, a cloaked figure emerged. "Who are you?!" Sora demanded. The figure only laughed. Behind Sora, Guardian floated silently, awaiting his queue. "Have you forgotten already? Did you really believe that I could succumb to someone as weak as yourself?! Well. I Guess I'll just have to prove you wrong." With that, the figure coldly laughed as an odd weapon appeared in his gloved hands. It had a thin, black blade that was outlined in blue, with a silver handle. Its tip was forked, like a viper's tongue. With one hand he expertly gripped it, and with the other he drew back his hood to reveal a scarred, but recognizable face. The same yellow, cat like eyes stared at Sora, waiting for his reaction. "You have no idea how long I've waited to be able to bring you to your knees, like you did me. Remember, darkness is stronger than some stupid light of yours." Sora brought his keyblade into a defensive position, "Your wrong Ansem, you can't defeat light. If you defeat me, there will always be someone to take my place. You cannot extinguish it. You're only fooling yourself." Hatred gleamed in Ansem's golden eyes, as he slashed wildly at Sora, only to have it blocked with each stroke. _At least I'm driving him back, and when I spring the trap, we'll see if his "light" will save him._ Ansem thought.

Thunder banged its way through the sky as rain clouds began to take place, blocking out the starry expanse. The figure glanced up, and sighed. "Hmm, I guess the weather report was wrong after all." He shook his head and went back to hacking away at the heartless that dared still stand in his way. Oblivion had yet proved its self useful once again. He ran the rest of the way, an urge, or maybe a precaution told him that if he didn't, he may be too late.

As Sora stumbled back into Guardian, it picked him up off the ground, leaving him open to attacks. "So Sora, where's your "light" now? Say goodbye, because it's the last thing you and your light will ever say!" Sora closed his eyes, awaiting the stroke to fall, but instead, he heard a low moan. Opening one eye, he saw Ansem slumped over, with a tall cloaked person standing over him. "Well, look's like your _still_ the same pathetic Sora I remember. Always needing someone to come and rescue you. Kairi's braver." The figure laughed in relief. Ansem slowly gathered himself up off the floor, but got no further. He cringed as a keyblade flashed directly above his head. "So it looks like my plan was all for not. We WILL meet again, sooner than you think. Come Guardian!" With that the feeble two teleported off to some unknown region, probably to plot Sora's next downfall.

The cloaked figure removed his hood, "I had to wear this stupid disguise to get around. Didn't need Ansem knowing I was coming to crash his little party." Sora got up and dusted himself off, "Riku! Where have you been?? Couldn't you have shown up a little earlier?!" Riku shrugged, "Been around, and hi to you too."

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Author: Well, that's chapter 1… Anyways, it may be a little odd from now on- as in, you get to choose which way you want the story to go in. There'll be two different chapters for each chapter, one humorous, one slightly more serious. Anyways, thanks for reading!

Albel: Quiet fool! –Disappears again-


	3. The Grim Axe? Ch2A

Author: Thanks again for the reviews, Big! : )By the way, this is the "Humerous" chapter, although it's not as good as i wanted it to be. Stupid keyboard faeries... always ruining things. Anyways, I'm now working on the more serious chapter which will have Ch2b somewhere in the label. :) enjoy.

Author: -sicks a few evil ninja attack boogles on Leon before leaving-

Leon: Ah! Evil attack moogles! -Runs away-

Ninja Moogle 1: You die now.

Albel:-randomly appears for the 3rd time- Quiet, maggot. That's also my line!

Ninja Moogle 2: The dull author of this story doesn't own any of the characters that are in here, or Star Ocean, or Kingdom Hearts. So go ahead and sue her.

Author: Hey! Don't you sue me! –drop kicks moogle, then whips out a machine gun and blasts the other one, along with Albel-

Albel: You die now.

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Sora followed Riku out of the shop and up one of the dark, silent streets. "Our ride is up here a ways." Riku pointed out a small silver shape a little ways off still. Sora questioned, "Where are we going?" The silver shape turned out to be a high tech gummi ship, and as Riku opened the side door, he pulled out a large yellow box and started thumbing through paperwork. "One sec… Ah! Here we are… Ok, we're headed to Traverse Town. I've got some business there. Maybe you can make yourself of use? I heard the heartless are harassing people again.

The stars shone brilliantly in Traverse Town's sky. Atop the old Accessory Shop, Cid sat propping his head up with one hand. Star gazing was never really his thing, but there was something strange in the warm night air. Almost a calming feeling that was mixed with an anticipation of something. He let out a heavy sigh, pondering over the days previous events. Glancing back up in dismay, he slowly began to take notice of one of the stars. It seemed brighter than the others, and was almost growing. He shook his head, cursing his eye sight, and then looked up again. It _was_ growing larger. "What the…"

As those words left his mouth, something silver shot through the sky, plummeting down towards the central plaza in front of him. As the ship hit the ground, a burst of flames engulfed it, followed by an aftershock that shook the ground like an earthquake. Cid fell off the roof, cursing the ship and anything else he could think of and disappeared into his shop for a moment, then came out with a large weapon like object. It looked like a cannon crossed with a vacuum. Storming over, he blasted the mess with white foam, putting out the fire, "Blasted kids these days! They fricken destroyed my shop! It looks like a fricken thief tore through!"

The left wing and end of the ship had fallen off in a scorched heap, along with the side door and gun. Out of the smoke billowing up, a spiky haired head poked out, catching Cid's attention. "There you are! Hey! Get yer' spiky little head out where I can see it!"

Sora blinked and tumbled out, hitting the ground with a thud and scattering the little burnt particles into a cloud of dust. "Ah- w-wait, don't point that thing at me!" Cid stormed over, chewing his toothpick aggressively, "Don't you try that! Huh…?" He turned around in time to see a panicked Yuffie running towards him, "SORA! SOOORA!" Cid leapt out of the way, nearly getting trampled by the ninja.

Riku jumped out, landing on top of the fallen keyblade master, "Huh, there you are… Sorry" Riku stepped off Sora's back and looked at Yuffie with a pained expression, "Hyper nutcase… what now?" Yuffie blinked, and looked at Riku, "Um, who are you?" Sora stood up and dusted himself off, "That's Riku. What's wrong? Hey… Where's Leon?" Yuffie took a deep breath, "That's what's wrong. Some guy with an axe arrived a few days ago and starting demanding us around. He's taken over Traverse Town and has a castle that suddenly appeared in 3rd District. What's worse is that he can summon the heartless." Sora sighed, "That's all nice, but where's Leon?" Yuffie gave him the 'boy-are-you-stupid-if-you-haven't-figured-it-out-yet' look. "He went to fight the Grim Axe."

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Well, there's my second chapter, or at least the humorous one. I'm now working on the serious one.

Albel: Quiet maggot.

Author: Shut up Albel.


	4. Sun City Ch2B

Author: Hey! Look at that… I managed to get another chapter out… Sorry about the delay folks! It may take me a little longer to submit the chapters though. Anyways, here's chapter three for the more serious story line.

Roger: I'm MACHO!

Author: What the…

Maria and Fayt-runs past, cursing the little in the trousers- GET BACK HERE!

Albel: Meet the babysitting crew… And no, this worm doesn't own Star Ocean, or Kingdom Hearts.

Author-sneaks up behind Albel and starts strangling him-

Leon-timidly glances around for a moment, looking for Yuffie- Finally.. pant I lost her… pant

-

Riku threw the black trench coat's hood back over his head, feeling the rain trickle down off his silver hair, and onto his back. "Come on, we'll be late if you don't hurry!" Sora stopped his friend, "Wait, late to where? What's this all about? How'd you even find me in the first place!" Riku turned, obviously stressed over something, "Look, if you'll just come with me, I'll explain everything. I'm not sure when, but I'll do it as soon as I can." Sora studied his face for a moment, unsure of what to do, "… Fine, alright." Riku nodded, "Ok, that's good. My ship's just up this street and down the next alley. It should only take us a few minutes. Let's go."

Sora followed Riku, carefully avoiding some of the puddles that were illuminated by the moonlight. The rain filled street gleamed, and for some reason brought back memories of Destiny Islands… And Kairi. Sora dodged another puddle, and turned the corner into the dark narrow alley. "You know Riku, I've always wondered. What happened back in Kingdom Hearts? How did you escape? What about the king?" Riku countered his barrage of questions with a small sigh, "I told you, I'd explain everything later."

A thin, sleek, silver ship waited for them in the middle of a parking lot. Riku carefully walked up, removing the black glove from his right hand and placing it on the side of the ship. The ship seemed to hum to life, the sound reverberating off the alley's walls. A red panel shimmered to view, scanning his hand for a moment, before a side hatch popped open. Sora stood and stared, unsure of what to say about it. If Riku hadn't waved him over, he could have stood there all night. "Ok, whatever you do, don't touch anything inside the ship unless I tell you to. Alright?" Sora nodded quickly.

Riku cast his coat off, dropping it in a wet heap on the ship's floor, and climbed in, carefully stepping over the passenger seat. Sora jumped in next, uncomfortable in the small cramped space that Riku called a 'seat'. Behind him, the hatch quickly popped shut. "Ok, so this isn't a Gummi ship… What is it?" Riku toyed with a few buttons before answering him, "It's a ship that belongs to the Garden. I can't go into detail. Sorry."

The engine hummed for a moment before blasting off towards its destination. Sora glanced out his window, watching Twilight Town flash by in a blur. "This thing's fast…" Riku laughed, "What'd you expect from it? It _is_ a Garden ship after all." All Sora could do was ponder over what this 'Garden' was. Soon, a new world appeared on map, and soon on screen. It was a dim place that seemed treacherous at the very least. "So, what's that world?" As the words escaped his mouth, two small black ships appeared next to them. "Not them again…" Riku punched a button and flew towards the world with immense speed. "Anyway, welcome to the renowned Sun City!"

The ship slammed into the cement near a flight tower. Shattering the concrete around it, unearthing what appeared to have once been a field. Behind them, the same two ships landed with precision. "Just stay here, I'll be right back." Riku pushed the hatch open, summoning Oblivion to himself before jumping out. "Wait! Hey!" Sora piled out behind him, willing Oathkeeper into existence. From the first ship, a masked figure got out, draped in a red, gold lined cape. Behind him, the second ship's weapons system came online as the pilot awaited the leader's word.

"By order of the Dragon Head Empire, you are to surrender your ship. You have 5 seconds to vacate the premises of your ship, under penalty of immediate-" Riku's keyblade slammed into the figure's gut, causing him to double over, only to be struck over the head by Sora. Riku whirled, "Sora! I told you to stay in the ship!" Sora coldly replied, "I can take care of myself." Riku glanced towards the second ship in time to notice the large, conspicuous cannon that was charging, "Lets go!" He turned around, followed by Sora, and ran towards one of the dark alleys, ignoring the uncertain looks from the inhabitants.

Thanks for reading


	5. Bar I mean, the GRIM AXE'S castle Ch3A

Author: WEEEEEELL, -cough cough-, I sort of have an urge to bash Roger a little, so, um, yea. I have a good reason though. Playing my little sister on SO3 for 2½ hours as she uses Roger against Nel can get a little tiring and stressful. Then again, I haven't told you about when I was fighting my other little sis on there who is a little 'Dimension Door' happy. –Sigh.-

Albel: And I shall have the honor of DOING the bashing of the hamster known as Roger. By the way, Kawaii-Cagalli doesn't own any of the characters or places or settings here, and has never seen one Barbie movie. She's 15. Not two. -.-

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Sora gingerly stepped up to the 3rd district doors, keyblade ready. So far, there hadn't been one heartless all the way there. Yuffie walked up behind him, followed by Riku, "So open the doors all ready. We're not here to just stare at them." Timidly placing a hand against the cold metal lining, he shoved it open. "What the…" 

A huge castle, unparalleled by anything they had ever seen before stood in the center, looking like it had come straight out of one of those Barbie movies. "Um… That can't be the Grim Axe's place… Are you sure you have the right directions? I mean, is the Grim Axe even a guy?" As they approached the doors, they noticed several picket signs here and there that said, 'Wallow in Despair', and different phrases along that line. Riku glanced at a few of the signs, "Pleasant little place, isn't it…"

The doors were practically a glowing, vibrant pink. Whoever the Grim Axe guy was, he was quite enthusiastic over Barbie, or something like that. The doors swung open automatically as Sora crawled up, "Arg, the pink! IT BURNS!" Riku stepped on him, followed by Yuffie as they walked inside. Suddenly, they were blasted by wave and wave of 'I'm too sexy'. Riku nodded to himself, suddenly feeling the urge to dance. Yuffie sighed, "The Grim Axe definitely has the typical male ego." Sora was still trying to crawl through the doorway, as he was blinded by the indefinable barrage of pink colors.

A loud clash of metal against metal coming from the upper balcony got them all back to their senses. "You people are all guilty of the crime of neutering animals! My judgment is that I shall neuter you!"

"Worm! Back off fool, or I shall have your head!"

"I'm Macho!"

"Maggot! Where do you think your nonsensical mutterings are getting you!"

"I am the GRIM AXE! Taaaaake THIS!"

"What the… You imbecile! Watch where you're aiming!"

Riku and Yuffie dashed towards the stairs, leaving the pink stricken Sora where he lay, by the doorway. What they saw on the balcony not only mystified them, but gave new meaning to 'The Hamster Dance'. Running in circles around a tall lanky guy in a skirt, was a small animal human cross between, in overalls and a busted up helmet. With an axe.

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Author: Well, now onto a more productive chapter, and soon after the second part of this little… Fight. 

Albel: Fool! You said I could bash him!

Author: I didn't say it would be physically, did I?


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